Life-guard for motor-cars.



No. 858,461. PATENT-ED JULY 2, 1907.

. BrLEv. LIFE GUARD FOR MOTOR GARS.

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APPLICATION FILED JAN. 23, 1907.

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UNITED srnans PATENT onnron.

BENJAMIN LEV, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE ECLIPSE RAILWAY SUPPLY COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION.

LIFE-GUARD FOR MOTOR-CARS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1907.

Application filed January 23, 1907. Serial No- 353,613-

To all whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, BENJAMIN Lnv, a citizen of the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahoga and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Life-Guards for Motor- Cars; and I do declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

guards for motor cars, and the invention consists in a life-guard constructed and adapted to operate, substantially as shown and described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of the parts shown in operating position on a car body and as they appear when a prostrate form lies in the path of the car. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the guard mechanism complete as otherwise seen in Fig. 1 and the car body removed. Fig. 3 shows the guard mechanism advanced as respects the form or body seen in Figs. 1 and 2, and wherein the guard is shown in dotted lines below in pick-up position, as hereinafter more fully described. Figs. 4 and 5, respectively, are detail views as will hereinafter fully appear.

The life-guard as thus shown is designed to automatically reach or run beneath a prostrate body in the path of the car and rescue the same before being crushed beneath the trucks or wheels, and in this respect is to be distinguished from What are known as car-fenders, which are usually arranged in advance of. the car or upon its immediate front and adapted more particularly to pick up persons who may be exposed by walking across the track or are standing thereon and which are struck by the car when they are in an upright position. The present invention, on the contrary, is arranged beneath the end of the car body, B, and may be used in conjunction with the ordinary fender and auxiliary thereto, thus making provision for both conditions of the person, standing on the feet and lying prostrate on the track. To these ends, also, the truck frame C is provided with say two or three rigid curved forwardly projecting arms 2, which rise to such elevation at their front as to serve as pivot supports for the tripping member or frame D, and three such arms 2 are shown in this instance. A rod 3 connects said arms and serves as a pivotal support for the curved side bars 4 of frame D. This frame or tilting member has its sides further connected by a transverse bar or rod 5 and also carries the bumper or striker roller E at its front. This roller is of the usual cushioning kind and in actual operation is designed to run at 'a fairly low level as respects the pavement, so as to serve as a medium for tripping or dropping the guard mechanism when a body is reached thereby, the theory of operation being that the roller will ride up over the body, and in doing so correspondingly depress the rear ends of said side bars 4 so as to drop guard G into safety position. To these ends the said bars 4 are pivoted approximately near their middle, and have their rearward projecting portions of a sufficient length to drop the said guard into a pick-up position. Thus, referring again to guard G, it will be seen that the guard is somewhat of basket form or fashion in its construction and consists of uni tary and independently pivoted members having rigid rear carrying portions 6 and front finger extensions 7, which preferably are of suitable fiat steel having their outer extremities curved under to avoid sharp points and adapted, when down, to run on the pavement as seen in lowest dotted lines Fig. 3. This position, however, is assumed only and automatically when roller E travels overa prostrate object and th ereby drops the said guard arms by reason of its own depression at the rear. .The said guard arms are in series arranged fairly close together and pivoted at their inner ends in brackets H fixed to a cross bar or rail 0 between side truck bars 0, and there is one such bracket H for each of said arms and provided with a suitable pivot bearing at its top adapted to receive said arms in rocking or pivotal relation. Any suitable construction for pivotally supporting these arms on brackets H which will enable a free downward movement from their normal position may be adopted, and the said arms are operatively confined in said brackets, a cap 8 being shown in this instance adapted to engage over and confine the arms.

The side bars of tripping frame D have fingers 10 on heels 14 at their inner extremities beneath their pivots which are adapted to engage beneath lugs 12 on the truck frame when the device has been set for use and which hold the same frame and dependent parts in working relation, as in full lines Figs'. 1 and 3. Furthermore, a cross rod 13 extends between the said side bars and is located to serve as a rest normally for the heels 14 on arms 6. Then, as striker or roller E reaches a prostrate body and runs thereon to a higher level than normal, say as in dotted lines, Fig. 3, this action necessarily depresses the inner extremity'of side bars 3 as lower plane, as in case where an arm strikes a portion of the prostrate body and is carried upward rather than under or beneath the body, as in dotted lines X, Fig. 3. In this case, presumably, one of the guard arms is d verted upward by the arm of the prostrate person and thrown to this higher elevation while the others pass beneath the person and pick it up. Individuallzmg the arms is therefore an important part of this invention and a comparatively few may serve to save a body, whereas others Will ride over it. -Then as the body 1s removed all the parts are reset and the device is ready agarn for operation. The resetting of the device is easily accomplished by the motor-man by means of chain 15 and a transverse bail 18 with which the chain is engaged and which is so arranged that by pulling upon the chain from above the tripping frame and the said arms 6 of the life-guard are respectively elevated to normal working position and placed again in readiness for further service.

What I claim is 1. A lifeguardfor cars comprising a guard having a series of independently mounted arms and a tripping device to run in advance of said arms and adapted to cause the arms to drop when the trip is raised at its front, said tripping device comprising a tripping frame and fixed supports on which said frame is pivoted at its sides.

2. A life-guard for motor cars consisting of a series of arms independently pivoted side by side in a series, and tripping mechanism for said arms having a striking portion at its front and constructed at its rear to operatively support said arms.

A life-guard for cars having a tripping frame with a transverse striking portion at its front, a guard consisting of a series of independently pivoted drop members adapted to pick up a prostrate body, and means operatively engaging said tripping frame with the said drop members beneath their pivot points.

4. A lifeguard for cars consisting of a guard having a series of pivoted arms adapted to run beneath a prostrate body and pick up and carry the body, a tripping device operatively engaged with said arms having downwardly extending front portions and a transverse striking member thereon, and fixed pivot supports on which said tripping device is pivoted at its sides.

5. The organization shown, comprising a car truck and a life guard supported from one end thereof, a guard operating frame having a transverse striking member at its front and adapted to be depressed at its rear when its front is elevated, and a series of independently pivoted guard members adapted to drop into guarding position when the rear of said guard operating frame is depressed.

G. A life-guard for cars comprising a series of pivotally supported guard members and a device to drop said members into guarding position when a body is to be rescued comprising a tripping frame adapted to engage said members at their rear and upper portions, and means to restore said parts into working position after an operation.

7. A life-guard for cars comprising a series of independently mounted arms projecting forward on substantially the same plane and adapted to have independent vertical movement at their free ends in riding over and picking up object said members having rigid bodies convex lengthwise on top and provided with spring" fingers at their free ends.

8. In life guards for cars, a series of pivoted arms projecting forward side by side and independently operative, said arms comprising a rigid supporting member and a spring extension attached thereto.

S). A life-guard for cars comprising a series of independent guard arms and fixed posts in which said arms are removably engaged in respect to each other and pivot supports for said arms constructed to provide a separable arrangement whereby any one of the said arms may be removed and replaced.

10. A life-guard for motor ears having a series of inde pendently pivoted arms arranged side by side, in combination with tripping mechanism for said arms consisting of a frame hai'ing a striking portion at its front and adapted to engage at its rear with the said arms at a point below their pivots, said arms having shouldered projections to make such engagement.

11. A life-guard for motor-cars consisting of a series of guard arms pivoted side by side, in combination with a tripping member having a striking portion at its front and a cross portion at its rear engaged separately by said arms.

12. A life-guard for motor-cars comprising a series of independently pivoted guard arms, in combination with tripping mechanism adapted to engage said arms beneath and behind their pivots and to carry said arms normally in a raised position at their front and to drop at its rear behind said pivots when the said arms are lowered to working position.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN LEV.

Witnesses:

R. B. Mosnn, E. M. FrsHnn. 

